Newmont questions police's Buyat Bay mercury tests
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
PT Newmont Minahasa Raya questioned on Thursday the laboratory test results from the police on water and fish tissue samples from Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi, which were inconsistent with tests run by other institutions.
The U.S.-based gold mining company's external relations manager, David Sompie, said all other tests conducted by several internationally and nationally certified laboratories indicated that the levels of mercury and arsenic in seawater were far below the standard set by the Office of the State Minister of the Environment, while the police tests showed the bay was contaminated.
Newmont has made headlines since a report surfaced two months ago that local fishermen of the bay were suffering from skin diseases that might have been caused by pollution.
The company has been operating in the region since 1996, and will cease production next month.
Police are questioning dozens of people as witnesses, but have not named any suspects as yet.
David said tests of 390 samples conducted by ALS laboratory showed only 0.055 microgram/Liter (u/L) of mercury in the bay, while tests by Sarpedal and CSIRO found almost the same level of mercury, respectively 0.059 u/L from 11 samples and 0.05 from 16 samples.
Ministerial Decree No. 51/2004 on seawater pollution sets the mercury level standard at 1 u/L.
On Wednesday, police said their tests showed that mercury content in Buyat Bay measured 5.5 u/L, 4 u/L and 3.9 u/L in three samples taken from different locations.
National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung Sudjono said based on these results, the police concluded that the bay was contaminated by heavy metals.
David said the disparate results might have been caused by different test methods or samples used by the institutions.
"It should be made clear whether the police measured the total mercury content or only the dissolved mercury level in the water of the bay, because the first will produce far higher results than the latter," he said.
David said the 1 u/L standard referred to the level of dissolved mercury, not total mercury content.
Newmont lawyer Palmer Situmorang said the government environmental office had declared the bay was not contaminated, and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries had said fish from the bay was safe to eat.
Palmer said the apparent differences in test results as reported by the press could not be confirmed because Newmont had not received official test results from the police.
"We trust the professionalism of the police to handle this case, but if the results as reported by the press are correct, we must question the results of tests that vary so dramatically from those of certified laboratories," he said.
The company recommended that a certified laboratory with a global reputation be hired to test and evaluate samples independently to resolve the matter.
Separately, in reference to the company's impending closure, president director Richard Ness said Newmont had provided US$15 billion toward a community development program as part of its post-operational activities.
"This is part of our long-standing commitment and respect for the community," said Ness.
He added that another $6 billion would be disbursed to develop a feasible business for the local community.